Ramji Londonwaley is an adaptation, not remake, (according to the writer/director Sanjay Dayma) of an older film titled Nala Damayanthi. It is Dayma's second of only two films so far. By far this is the least famous of the two as the other film, Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India, was nominated by the Academy for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
The film that this is adapted from is part of Tamil cinema. Tamil cinema is in reference to the location of production. The region of Tamil is known as Kollywood, similar to the more famous Bollywood, taking it's name in respect of Hollywood. Tamil cinema is also regulated more prominently by the government than others. This regulation generally focuses on the prices of admission to the films that are released.
Sanjay Dayma worked with Indian cinema superstar R. Madhavan on both of his projects. Madhavan is by far the most famous name associated with this film and has been in over 50 movies. Not much information could be found about Dayma himself and even a photograph was hard to come by. Unless the Sanjay Dayma that is easily locatable on Facebook is the same man in which case it seems that he has fallen out of the limelight. His wife is Vidya Malvade, a relatively famous Bollywood actress.
As stated, this film was not the critical success that Lagaan was. It has received mixed reviews from both Indian and American critics. Although it has achieved a fresh rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes it has less than stellar scores elsewhere including a 6.5/10 on IMDB. Most negative criticism points to the pace of the first hour of the film while the positive will note the charm and comedy brought to the film by Madhavan.
The film itself covers a lot of ground, which could explain why there is so much distaste for the set up in the beginning. It follows a son, Ramji (played by Madhavan), after his mother's death in India as he travels to London in pursuit of a job as well as an arranged marriage (which is common in Indian culture). Due to a series of unfortunate events including a bitter betrothal, inconvenient timing on the part of his employer, and legal troubles with immigration. Ramji is left to fend for himself.
Sources:
bollywoodhumgama.com
hindigeetmala.net
imdb.com
wikipedia.org
rottentomatoes.com
We didn't have chance for much discussion, but I do have an "audience question":
ReplyDeleteThis film reminded me of Babette's Feast and Big Night in the sense that we can see money and food coming together-- sometimes standing in for each other. (Opposed to, for example, Sideways where money isn't really an issue.) Why is this and what does it say about food/character?
I was also curious, was the big actor guy at the end ever mentioned at any point through the film or does he just show up randomly?
ReplyDeleteThere was an exchange where Ramji mentioned his name, but it was never insinuated he would appear in the film
DeleteHe is actually mentioned by Ramji when they're fussing over him before his trip to London (barbering and tailoring). He says if Amitabh Bachchan would say to me I'm as great a cook as he is an actor I'd be fulfilled or something to that effect. It's more or less what Amitabh B. says to him at the end. It probably says more about the star status of AB in Bollywood than anything. If you promise his appearance in a film, it still holds weight. He was in probably just the last decade the biggest star (in pure number of fans) in the world. He's been supersceded by Shah Rukh Khan, the big Bollywood star of the moment, and the second richest star in the world (after Jerry Seinfeld, somewhat surprisingly) and ahead of Tom Cruise.
ReplyDeleteI guess I see the food/money connection as inevitable when the main character is a chef, which is the case in Babette, Big Night, and Ramji. However, in each of those cases the chefs make it clear that they aren't doing what they do for monetary gain ultimately--or at least that it doesn't dictate their menu or culinary choices.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to contrast that to Eat Drink Man Woman, where Chu did cook for monetary gain and his food suffered. That's probably stretching it a bit much though....
DeleteI think that is a good point. Ramji needed money and his interests were very clear to him (as far as the love story), however, for Chu, the money was not his interest at all. It almost served as a distraction--whether he wanted to focus on his personal life, or was hoping to avoid thinking about it.
DeleteIt's interesting how chefs walk this line between a spiritual consumption (Babette particularly) and consumerism (payment for restaurant work). They can provide on both levels and it can have quite an effect on the building of a character.
Money is just the means to get to a solid point of providing their skills in food and presentation. yes. Ramji needed the money to support his family but it provided him the means to still cook open a restaurant and provide for his family. Chu used the money to make an elaborate feast just for his family but it never consumed him to a point that he could not provide for his family. It just provided a way for him to cook and utilize his skills/talents
DeleteI would agree that money is the means these characters use to provide their skills. I didn't feel that any of the characters we have seen so far have done this for the money. I also feel this is true about anything that someone is passionate about. If money becomes a reason for doing something, you can easily lose interest.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a very valid point! I think these characters have all been about the passion of their art, not the money for their payment (Ramji after his financial obligation was met).
DeleteMoney was a big focus in this film however once Ramji's money problem was solved he went back to India to continue pursing his passion of cooking.
ReplyDelete